How to Develop a Writing Habit | Basic Guide
If you have trouble finding enough time to write, continually putting it off, or never manage to write when you intended to write, then… You should work on How to Develop a Writing Habit
If you could consistently write for an hour (or two) a day, consider the following:
Over the course of a month or a year, you would write a ton of material. You would produce an enormous amount.
Due to the absence of procrastination, you would meet all of your writing deadlines.
Simply from the quantity of practice you’d be getting, your writing would get better.
You would be inspired to keep writing because you would feel terrific about your work. From the genius of your writing, you could end war and end world hunger.
The last one could be a stretch, but the first four I can personally attest to.
I’ve been writing for a long now and it’s become a habit and a love of mine. I can say with pride that I’ve written a lot, despite the fact that not every word I write is amazing and fascinating. numerous publications.
As a blogger and independent blog writer over the past few years, I’ve probably produced more than 3,000 entries. Not to mention the writing I’ve done outside of blogging or for my day job.My routine is really straightforward: I write the two or three items I truly want to write each day as early in the day as I can. That equates to typically 2-4 hours of writing every day (sometimes more). I prioritize writing, and it has benefited me in many ways.
Procrastinators are notorious among writers.
But if we develop the practice of writing, we won’t have to be.
Here are the methods that I’ve found to be effective and which I’ve also used to establish numerous other habits:
1. Make writing a habit.
You aren’t really committed to forming the habit if you don’t make a written commitment to doing so.
You must be 100 percent committed if you want to create the habit. Instead of being on the edge or saying, “I’ll try,” say, “I’m going to do this.”
Additionally, you must put it in writing and place it where you will see it. What particularly will you start doing as a habit? What will you do, when, where, and for how long? Put it in writing.
2. Use a trigger and carry it out every day at the same time.
It is great if you set up a specific period of day to begin writing. Although you could appreciate lunchtime or right before night, I prefer the early morning.
If you frequently get called into meetings in the late afternoon, for example, avoid scheduling writing time at that time (unless you have the authority to skip the meetings, in which case by all means, do so!).
Having a trigger is as vital to scheduling one time for writing.
3. Become devoted to others.
Quite essential to be 100 percent committed to developing this habit, as I mentioned before.
To accomplish that, it is best to publicly pledge yourself rather than keeping it a private matter. Inform your loved ones, friends, and coworkers. Post about it on your blog or in an online forum.
Tell them exactly what you’re going to do, and make a commitment to regularly update them (see No. 6 below). You’ll have the drive to stick with it thanks to this public pledge.
4. Give it your undivided attention for a month.
Focus is one of the keys to creating new habits.
You’re more likely to succeed if you give developing that habit your whole attention (especially in combination with the other tools on this list).
Your focus will be diluted if you try to establish numerous new behaviours at once. Avoid falling into this frequent but seductive trap. Invest all of your attention and effort into developing this new writing habit.
5. Discover your drives.
What drives you to take this action? When it spurs you on to get down and pen something?
What will keep you inspired when you’re not in the mood to write? It’s crucial to understand your motivations, and it’s better to put them in writing.
6. Keep a log and be responsible.
Crucial to record your new habit. That may be as easy as marking each day you wrote down on your calendar with a red “X.”
You can record the time, date, and any additional information in a spreadsheet. It might be a goal-tracking tool. Excellent platforms for this are online forums. Whatever method you use, be sure to record it frequently and right away.
After that, you should somehow make your log public, even if it’s simply with your close relatives and friends. You must be held accountable in front of the people.
7. Establish rewards.
Rewarding behaviour is quite powerful.
Start off by rewarding yourself more frequently: after the first day, after the second, after the third, after a week, after two weeks, after three, and eventually after a month.
Before you begin, make a list of these prizes so you can anticipate receiving them.
8. Without exceptions
Your habit will become more ingrained the more consistent you are with it.
You want your habit to be very closely related to your trigger such that it happens every time the trigger does. It becomes a habit because of this.
You’re not really developing a habit if the trigger occasionally occurs but the habit doesn’t. Therefore, while it’s not a good idea to punish oneself for errors, it’s best to tell yourself, “No exceptions! ”
because it is common for one exception to be followed by another and another. You may compare that to telling yourself, “Just one cigarette! No exceptions, you must write today even if you don’t feel like it. ”What would happen if you made a mistake and missed a day? So, don’t punish yourself for it. Find the cause of your day’s absence, examine it, and come up with a fix so it doesn’t happen again. then proceed. The habit could take a little longer to develop, but as long as you don’t accept any exceptions moving forward, you should be fine.
9. Look for motivation.
In my opinion, inspiration is the best form of motivation. I enjoy reading about other people who have developed good habits when I’m trying to do the same.
I’ll read about it in books, periodicals, websites, and blogs. Find inspiration for writing in the same way, but don’t let reading get in the way of writing.
10. Make it enjoyable
Above all, if the habit isn’t enjoyable in some way, you’ll eventually lose interest in it.
Trying to be “disciplined” is one thing, but ultimately, motivation is what counts.
You can’t make someone motivated. So find a method to make it enjoyable, whether it be by listening to some excellent music, sipping on some tea or coffee, or using writing tools you enjoy.
11. The Provoking Event
The turning point in your novel when your hero’s life changes irrevocably is known as the inciting incident. Nothing that happens later will bring your hero’s world back to normal; it is the “no-going-back” moment.
Neo takes the red pill, Dorothy lands in Oz, Katniss offers her services, etc. Aliens have arrived!
Your plot should move swiftly toward the climax as soon as your inciting incident occurs.
The biggest error that new writers make is believing that their inciting incident can be undone. That implies that anything could occur to restore normalcy to the hero’s life.
Not at all!
Your triggering event should be as irreversible as losing a limb or losing a loved one. Nothing ought should be capable of